"I think we managed to remove the last of the paint pots at 4.30pm on the day we opened for our launch party, so it certainly was a race to the finish line," says designer Vicki Taylor.
She is recalling the final push before she threw open the (very cool and stylish) doors of her newest enterprise, The Shelter by Taylor, on Dunedin’s Filleul St.
Taylor, who has worked in the New Zealand fashion industry for more than three decades, started her eponymously-named label in a 35sq m space on Jervois Rd in Auckland’s Ponsonby in 1999, "making my pieces out the back of the store and living upstairs".
"We had three employees by the end of my first year there, and now 24 years later I have three brands, five stores and almost 30 employees.
"I paced myself, opening stores in between becoming a mother. In 2014 I started The Shelter — a designer concept store to showcase a curated selection of international artisanal brands alongside some of New Zealand’s best established and emerging labels."
After being asked "many times" while buying internationally for The Shelter why she wasn’t selling the taylor range in Europe, Taylor launched a northern hemisphere-specific brand, Symetria Concept.
"Symetria sits in some of my favourite stores worldwide and I am humbled to say it has been in Selfridges in London in Designer Gallery 1 since 2019," she says.
"Here our New Zealand-designed and manufactured brand sits amongst the leading international designers who I’ve idolised my whole design career — Yohji Yamamoto, Dries Van Noten, Rick Owens — and we sit right beside Comme des Garcons and Junya Watanabe."
"The Hokonuis were a special time for me. It provided a quick escape from the construction and realities of opening the new store — I got to put the paint scraper away, dress up for a black tie event and celebrate people’s incredible talents.
"The awards were amazing, and becoming part of the Hokonui team who run it, who are all volunteers, was what made the event so much fun. The designers in the show certainly displayed amazing talents and I was really blown away by the level of talent and construction."
Taylor is passionate about supporting emerging designers and advocating for the younger generation as they start their own labels.
"Seeing the level of design, especially coming through at high school level, really inspired me. I certainly could not have achieved that when I was at high school!"
Like many of Dunedin’s central city retailers, Taylor has set up shop in an historic building — a former garment factory no less — which comes with equal parts character and challenges.
She says initially it was the wraparound windows and "beautiful natural light that flowed in" to the space that really captured her — "those who have been to The Shelter in Auckland will understand my attraction to natural daylight".
But it wasn’t all sunshine and lollipops, as the Dunedin space had just gone through earthquake strengthening, and many utilities such as electricity, hot water, and heat were still not connected, and flooring was missing.
Undeterred, Taylor set about transforming things according to her enviable aesthetic vision.
"My Dunedin manager Sarah laughs, as after the first time we went through the very raw space I had a rough sketch of the bones of the store and how we wanted it to feel and work within half an hour.
"Three months later, she’s now working in the spaces we sketched up on that first day. It’s at times like this you just have to say the space spoke to me."
As with any construction zone, they encountered unexpected hurdles, but their "amazing" building team worked night and day to ensure they finished on time. And liberally applying a Taylor/The Shelter/Dunedin fashion signature hue didn’t hurt.
"By painting everything inside matte black, it enhances the mood and enables people to enjoy finding their personal zones of interest within the space," says Taylor.
So why Dunedin for this latest project?
"Dunedin has a fabulous creativity and as a city it celebrates individualism — it seeps through every aspect of the city," Taylor says.
"So to me, it was to be the perfect location for our second Shelter store."
She hoped to add to Dunedin’s strong and long-standing fashion and design identity and be part of making the city a design hub for the South Island.
"Our own building at 41 Filleul St was once an old garment factory, so it’s fitting to bring the building back to its roots, housing New Zealand design."
And despite launching something new and arguably a bit different into an industry that Taylor describes as having always been a tough one ("fashion has a glamorous exterior yet a very hard and crunchy inside") — and during a particularly rough economic period to boot — she’s delighted by the city’s reaction, and remains optimistic about the local industry as a whole.
"We’ve been overwhelmed and humbled by the response to the store. We really wanted this space to be more about the experience, the stories of the designers and their brand identities, rather than just being about selling things."
Taylor says the unique creativity of New Zealand design "is nurtured by our ability to think outside of the square and our remoteness to those big commercial fashion hubs".
"Our uniqueness is supported by our fabulous population who celebrate individuality — this is one reason why we hold and support emerging New Zealand designers at The Shelter.
"It really is an honour to discover and showcase the talents of the young designers, and hopefully we can help build their business base and ensure they have the building blocks to reach international markets like we have."
In turn, Taylor has found plenty of personal inspiration during her extended time in the south.
"My family and I recently did the Otago Rail Trail, which was a huge highlight for me. Our new collection ‘Interrupted Perfection’ brings together all the inspirations from that trip.
"But please ask me this again in another six months once I have more visits under my belt, and my Dunedin training wheels taken off.
"I really look forward to discovering some of the great places in the area, and now I no longer have my paintbrush in hand."
- By Josie Steenhart
